Past and Present
"Past and Present" is the third episode of Season 1 of Dark. ''It was written by Jantje Friese and Marc O. Seng and directed by Baran bo Odar. It premiered on December 1, 2017 along with the other episodes in the first season. Summary It's 1986, and Ulrich's brother, Mads, has been missing for a month. Confusion reigns as past and present intertwine. Plot A confused Mikkel enters the house he has lived in, looking for his parents. A strange woman is there (presumably Ulrich's mother). She asks him who he is, where is Mads and why has he come there? She becomes hysterical, grabs Mikkel, then collapses to the ground in tears, asking "when is he coming back?" Mikkel runs away and heads to the high school. He again runs into Katharina. He tells her he is looking for his mother, who is the principal there. Katharina assures him the principal is not a woman. He then goes to the police station in an attempt to find his father. He asks Egon Tiedemann, a police officer there. When he says his father is Ulrich Neilsen, he asks if this is a joke as he is quite sure the rebellious young Ulrich, who he has it in for, will never work there. He looks at the wounds on Mikkel's face and asks if Ulrich did that to him? Mikkel asks him the date and Egon confirms that Mikkel has somehow arrived in ''1986. Left alone while Egon goes to see Ulrich, Mikkel solves a Rubik's cube, swipes Egon's lighter, and looks through Egon's files on the desk and finds his uncle Mads' recent missing person's report, as well as a photo of him with the teenage boy he met earlier, who was identified as Ulrich. Shortly afterwards, Ines Kahnwald, a hospital nurse, comes to take him to the town hospital. She asks him his name but he stays silent. Finally he tells her that he "comes from the future". She had given him a book to read titled "Captain Future," so she assumes he has made this up. More than 4 weeks after the disappearance of Mads, the police have made no progress. Egon is asked to investigate the mysterious sudden death of 33 sheep. He is told that they all died of cardiac arrest, probably due to panic spreading through the herd but strangely, their eardrums are ruptured on both sides. Claudia Tiedemann, Egon's daughter and Regina's mother, is today commencing as the first female chief of the nuclear power plant. She scolds Regina for not making more of an effort to look good. On arrival she is given a book by Helge Doppler, the son of the retiring chief, Bernd Doppler: "A Journey Through Time" by H.G Tannhaus. She is initially quite proud but is quickly shocked to discover that there are things being covered up. Bernd Doppler informs her that the public had lost faith in nuclear energy since the recent Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine. He later sends her to the cave nearby to learn about one of many secrets of the plant: a vast collection of yellow drums filled with an unknown substance that has been marked as nuclear waste. When Regina returns home, Claudia is not there. She has left a message that she will be home late. There are a number of scars on Regina's wrist. Birds fall from the sky. The lights in Winden flicker on and off, and a teenage Charlotte witnesses the strange phenomenon of birds falling dead from the sky. Out of curiosity, she takes detailed notes, especially interested in the odd white specks on their feathers. Seeing these same strange occurrences that occurred when he traveled to 1986, Mikkel escapes from the hospital and runs back to the cave (thinking that this may be how he can find his way back to where he came from). He slips and breaks his leg. In 2019 Ulrich heads to the cave with a crowbar in hand and tries to open the locked door, though he is ultimately unsuccessful. He begins banging on the door in frustration. Mikkel calls out "Help me"" which Ulrich can hear, though they are separated in time. In split screen we see them both return from the cave, Mikkel limping. They both cry in frustration, each looking for the other but unable to reach each other. The characters from 1986 and 2019 are shown in split screen: Ines Kahnwald the nurse- Michael's mother who opened his suicide note. Tronte and Jana Neilsen- Ulrich's parents. Regina (the hotel owner in 2019), Charlotte (the police chief in 2019). Ulrich, as an adult and teenager. At the very end of the episode, we see an older man, dressed in a sharp white lab coat and surrounded by clocks tinkering with a machine. Quotes * Claudia: In times like these, one must face one's own fears. Because the future… the future belongs to the bold, not to the doubters, those forever stuck in the past. * Ines: I'm Nurse Ines—but you can just call me Ines. I'll take you to the hospital now. We'll take a look at your arm, okay? Then I'll bring you home safe and sound. * Bernd: There are things that are worth knowing and things worth not knowing, because you can't change them anyway. * Hannah: Is this the Apocalypse? Ulrich: A bit disappointing. I imagined it being louder. More glaring. * Hannah: If the world ended today, and everything started anew, what would you wish for? Ulrich: Easy. A world without Winden. Hannah: To a world without Winden. Ulrich: To a world without Winden. Hannah: I don't think Winden is going to give up that easily. Ulrich: Well, maybe next time. Analysis Cultural References The radio news mentions a chemical plant fire in Switzerland. This is likely referring to the November 1, 1986 chemical fire at a storage facility outside Basel owned by Sandoz, a predecessor company of Novartis. Around 1350 metric tons (1488 U.S. tons) of toxic material spilled into the Rhine, killing nearly all plant and animal life downstream for 180 km. Dr. Schaller says "Freddy Krueger" may have been enough for a single person to cause the 33 sheep to panic enough to just drop dead. Freddy Krueger is the bogeyman of Wes Craven's 1984 slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street, who has a glove with long knives attached to each finger. He is able to haunt the dreams of children and murder them there, who spend their waking lives in terror of him. Mikkel solves a Rubik's Cube on Egon's desk. The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle box popularized in the early 1980s. Ulrich plays a heavy metal song with lyrics "my only aim is to make many lives, the more, the better I feel", which Egon notices. Parallels * This episode is set almost entirely in 1986. Most of the characters we meet are the 33 year younger versions of the adult characters we met in the first 2 episodes. * The woman Mikkel meets on entering his house is his grandmother, Jana Neilsen, who has recently experienced the disappearance of her son Mads, similar to what Katharina and Ulrich are experiencing with the disappearance of Mikkel. * Mikkel goes to the high school and says to Katharina he is looking for his mother. (They have no idea she is/will become his mother). * The inability of the police to solve Erik's disappearance in 2019 is identical to Mads in 1986. Ulrich blames Egon, similar to Erik's family blaming the police in 2019. * The sheep have ruptured eardrums, just like the body in 2019. * Tronte Neilsen is having an affair with Claudia, similar to his son Ulrich with Hannah, although the roles are reversed, with Tronte pursuing Clauda but she tries to rebuff him. * Claudia may be successful with her work but she appears to be neglecting her daughter. Regina seems unhappy as a teenager and an adult. Regina in 2019 feels her breast, which appears to have a lump * Ulrich and Mikkel can hear each other in the cave 33 years apart, as strange occurrences (lights flickering, birds falling) take place. As previously explained, time is not linear. * In the preceding episode 'The Stranger' had a copy of the same book that Helge gave Claudia: "A Journey Through Time" by H.G Tannhaus. Cast * Anne Lebinsky as Jana Nielsen 1986 * Daan Lennard Liebrenz as Mikkel Nielsen * Anne Ratte-Polle as Ines Kahnwald 1986 * Stephanie Amarell as Charlotte Doppler 1986 * Christian Pätzold as Egon Tiedemann 1986 * Julika Jenkins as Claudia Tiedemann 1986 * Lydia Maria Makrides as Regina Tiedemann 1986 * Nele Trebs as Katharina Nielsen 1986 * Ella Lee as Hannah Kahnwald 1986 * Peter Schneider as Helge Doppler 1986 * Felix Kramer as Tronte Nielsen 1986 * Ludger Bökelmann as Ulrich Nielsen 1986 * Michael Mendl as Bernd Doppler 1986 * Angela Winkler as Ines Kahnwald * Walter Kreye as Tronte Nielsen * Deborah Kaufmann as Regina Tiedemann * Karoline Eichorn as Charlotte Doppler * Tatja Seibt as Jana Nielsen * Oliver Masucci as Ulrich Nielsen * Jördis Triebel as Katharina Nielsen * Christian Steyer as H.G. Tannhaus 1986 * Anna Schönberg as Nurse Donata * Tara Fischer as Girl in School * Thomas Arnold as Farmer Hermann Albers * Lea Willkowsky as Secretary Jasmin Trewen * Hannes Wegener as Dr. Reimann * Luc Feit as Veterinarian Dr. Schaller Gallery 1x03_0000_RaiderJana.jpg|A Raider commercial 1x03_0001_MikkelDoor.jpg|Mikkel peers through the door 1x03_0002_JanaCouch.jpg|Jana and her grandson 1x03_0003_Jana.jpg|A distraught Jana 1x03_0004_InesBadge.jpg|Donning her badge 1x03_0005_CharlotteBike.jpg|Charlotte on her bike 1x03_0006_DeadBird.jpg|A dead bird 1x03_0007_EgonRubiksCube.jpg|Egon after hours 1x03_0008_ClaudiaLipstick.jpg|Applying lipstick 1x03_0009_HelgeGift.jpg|Helge has a gift 1x03_0010_Regina.jpg|Regina 1x03_0011_NoFuture.jpg|No Future 1x03_0012_DeadSheep.jpg|33 dead sheep 1x03_0013_FarmerAlbers.jpg|Farmer Alberts 1x03_0014_JasminTrewen.jpg|Meeting Jasmin 1x03_0016_MikkelEgon.jpg|Mikkel and Egon 1x03_0017_Tronte.jpg|Here for an interview 1x03_0018_TronteClaudia.jpg|Tronte and Claudia 1x03_0019_MadsCase.jpg|Mads' case file 1x03_0020_MadsUlrichPhoto.jpg|The Nielsen brothers 1x03_0021_InesMeetsMikkel.jpg|Ines meets Mikkel 1x03_0024_UlrichGaming.jpg|Playing a video game 1x03_0026_UlrichEgonHoof.jpg|Brandishing a hoof 1x03_0027_Jana.jpg|Jana beside herself 1x03_0032_BerndClaudia.jpg|Bernd and Claudia 1x03_0033_ClaudiaOffice.jpg|Claudia takes the reins 1x03_0034_BirdSketch.jpg|Sketching the bird 1x03_0036_Veterinarian.jpg|Dr. Schaler the vet 1x03_0037_SheepAutopsy.jpg|A sheep autopsy 1x03_0038_BerndKey.jpg|Handing over the keys 1x03_0039_ClaudiaCave.jpg|Claudia in the cave 1x03_0040_InesMikkelHands.jpg|Warm hands 1x03_0041_InesSadMikkel.jpg|A sad Mikkel 1x03_0042_Ines.jpg|Ines takes pity 1x03_0043_YellowDrums.jpg|Yellow drums of waste 1x03_0044_Regina1986.jpg|Regina in the mirror 1x03_0045_ReginaScars.jpg|Scars 1x03_0046_EgonBirds.jpg|Birds raining on Egon 1x03_0047_BirdsCooler.jpg|Birds in Charlotte's fridge 1x03_0048_Charlotte1986.jpg|Charlotte contemplates the birds 1x03_0049_MikkelEscape.jpg|Mikkel makes his escale 1x03_0050_UlrichShelter.jpg|Ulrich stops for a smoke 1x03_0051_UlrichSmoke.jpg|Looking cool 1x03_0052_HannahHopeful.jpg|A hopeful Hannah 1x03_0053_UlrichSmirk.jpg|Ulrich smirks 1x03_0054_Trontes.jpg|Tronte in 1986 and 2019 1x03_0055_ClaudiaBook.jpg|Claudia opens her book 1x03_0056_Reginas.jpg|Regina in 1986 and 2019 1x03_0057_CharlotteBirds.jpg|Birds raining on Charlotte 1x03_0058_Charlottes.jpg|Charlotte in 1986 and 2019 1x03_0059_Janas.jpg|Jana in 1986 and 2019 1x03_0060_JanaTronteWeddingPhoto.jpg|Jana and Tronte's wedding photo 1x03_0061_EmptyBed.jpg|Mads' empty bed 1x03_0064_MikkelShouts.jpg|Mikkel shouts for his dad 1x03_0065_UlrichSurprised.jpg|Ulrich hears his son Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 de:Gestern_und_Heute fr:Passé et présent es:Pasado y presente